Release the sickle
by Suiri
Summary: For ten days she waited for rescue...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto.

**An**: Takes place during Shippoudan. The italicized paragraphs are meant to be a sort of flashback or memory. Some of the lines were taken from Naruto Nippon, a radio program. It's actually a conversation between Inoue Kazuhiko, the guy who voiced Kakashi and Paku Romi, the woman who voiced Temari. I thought it was rather cute. I borrowed it from virtual-rotation. I hope they don't mind.

**Warning: **Bad grammar probably. English is not my first language. Also this is Kakashi and Temari pairing. Kinda.

**Summary: **For ten days she waited for rescue.

* * *

**Release the sickle...**

Day one

* * *

The attack came without warning. She felt his presence mere seconds before he struck. One blink and suddenly half of her scouting team were gone. They were dead before they even touched the ground. The other half of her team was still standing as the blood spurted from their bodies. Their eyes were locked on her figure.

"Temari-sama," one of the jounin rasped. He grabbed his neck and managed to speak through the kunai in his throat. "Run."

He fell.

They all fell.

Their bodies made no sound when they toppled onto the snow and all she could do was stand there, stunned. They were massacred. There was only one of him and she had twelve capable shinobi backing her up, but within minutes, the battle was already over.

They never stood a chance.

Uchiha Itachi's face was devoid of all emotion. He watched impassively as she reached back and grabbed her fan.

She lunged for him with a snarled.

* * *

_There was solid proof that one of the Akatsuki's stronghold was based near the top of Mount Gojo. The intelligence came from a reliable source and the Hokage had thought long and hard before deciding that it was worth the gamble. Konoha was set and ready to send a team there to investigate and possibly do battle. All Konoha needed was a small group of Suna nins and a leader to represent them..._

"_I don't see why you have to be the one," Kankuro said. He stood in her living room. He looked irritated and disturbed. "How could Gaara ask you to lead a team into the mountains? You hate the cold!"_

"_I volunteered, idiot," Temari snorted. She hefted her gear over her shoulder and zipped her jacket. She gestured behind him and Kankuro reluctantly passed her a pair of goggles. _

"_Why would you do something like that?" Kankuro crossed his arms. His eyes bored into hers. "It's practically a suicide mission!" _

_He looked ready to rip out his hair. _

"_I volunteered because this might be our only chance to take down the Akatsuki. We haven't paid them back for what they did to Gaara." _

"_Then I'll go!" __Kankuro growled. He was completely serious. He would take her place in a heartbeat.  
_

_Temari grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked him back as he turned to run to the door. _

"_Dumbass," she turned him around and drew him into a tight hug. She felt him returned the hug fiercely. The top of his chin came to rest on her head and she marveled at the fact that she was a head shorter then he was. It seemed like just yesterday she was the one looking down at him. "One of us needs to be here to protect Gaara."_

_He opened his mouth to protest._

"_If something happens, take care of him, alright?" she played the last card in her deck. "Do this for your big sister." _

_He closed his mouth. _

_He reluctantly nodded. _

_He grabbed her shoulders and looked into her eyes sternly. _

"_You better come back." _

* * *

He stood over her.

Why was it always an Uchiha?

If the humiliation by the younger one wasn't bad enough, now she had to contend with the fact that she had been soundly beaten by the older one as well. She stared defyingly into his red-colored eyes. The only comfort she could give herself was that she wouldn't live long enough for the shame to sink in.

Uchiha Itachi reached down. He brushed away a strand of her hair from her face and he left. She managed to turn her head and caught a glimpse of long black hair disappearing around the bend.

That bastard.

He wanted her to suffer the full humiliation as she bled to death.

She couldn't save her team.

She couldn't save herself.

* * *

_She and her jounins met with the Kohona nins in an abandon outpost near their target. She was wary when she saw who was leading the Konoha team._

"_Yo," __Hatake Kakashi held up two fingers in greeting. _

_Of all the jounins, of course the Hokage had to send the most unpredictable one. _

"_Kakashi-sensei," she nodded. _

_They allowed the teams to mingled. _

_In a small tent, Kakashi and Temari poured over a map._

"_My team and I will head north," he said. That left the west for her and her team. _

_Temari stared at the plan with furred brows._

_"Damn it!" she crumpled the map in her hands. T__hey were practically walking into a trap. __She was disgusted with herself for being unable to think of a better plan. _

_Suddenly, Kakashi leaned in until his face was inches from hers. _

"_You're a really beautiful person," he said offhandedly. _

_Temari felt her eye twitch.  
_

_"When I first saw you my heart was beating so fast," he rubbed his chin. _"_Yes...If you keep your mouth shut you're really really cute." _

_Temari didn't like that twinkle in his eye.  
_

"_I really like you." _

_His strange confession was broken by a joking, mirthful snort.  
_

_Temari was the bigger person. _

_She turned her back and walked away. _

_Later that night, he found Kamatari's droppings in his sleeping cot. _

_When morning arrived, they set off. _

_Temari pulled the fur collar of her jacket closer to her face as they came to the base of the mountain. It was already snowing. God. She really did hate the cold. She could feel it creeping under her clothes and she shivered. She watched as the Kohona team disappeared on their way. _

"_I'll go ahead with the scouting team. Team B follow thirty clicks behind," she ordered. _

"_Yes, Temari-dono." _

_Temari reached back to make sure her fan was secure. The goggles went over her eyes. _

"_Lets go." _

_She hadn't known at the time that two minutes into their trek, Uchiha had already destroyed Team B. _

* * *

By some divine intervention she wasn't dead yet. There wasn't a place on her body that didn't ache or throb uncomfortably and the cold, wet air nipping at her exposed skin made the hurt worst.

But for now, she was alive.

There was a slight rustle to the left and from the corner of her eyes, Temari watched as Kakashi sauntered into the clearing. There was a crudely-made splint on his left leg and one arm dangled limply by his side.

He glanced at the spear that was pierce through her abdomen, pinning her to the frozen ground. His one eye looked grim as he bent over and leaned close to her ear.

"This is going to hurt," he said. With his good arm he grabbed hold of the handle. He yanked it from her body in one swift movement.

Temari, exhausted, could only moaned in agony. She felt something warm blanketing her. She opened her eyes long enough to see that Kakashi had shed his jounin jacket and was bundling her within it.

He scooped her up and threw her over one shoulder.

He began to walk.

It was true what they said about death.

Her life did flash before her eyes.

Her childhood..._when she was eight, tackling a struggling Kankuro because she wanted to put makeup on him. _

Her first crush..._he was an older boy and a chunin. Temari had lost count of how many times she would wait behind a shop stall that faced the gate, waiting for him to walk through from his missions. He would always give her a kind smile when he spotted her. She cried the day his body was brought through by his mourning team_.

Her first kiss..._She was ten. She was delivering flowers to her mother's grave when she saw him. Uncle Yashamaru. He was quietly leaning his head against the stone. When she came closer, he looked up and noticed her. He offered her a weak smile and opened his arms. She went without hesitation. He buried his head into her hair and she could feel his tears._

"_You look so much like your mom," he mummer. His entire body trembled. As a child her world had been small, but even then she recognized that his world was even smaller. She had her father and Kankuro. _

_With her mother gone, Yashamaru had nothing. _

_When he looked up, she brought her lips down on his. _

_She meant it as a comfort. _

_He allowed it for a long moment, before he pulled away. He gently patted her on the head. _

_It was long after he died when she realized that not only had Yashamaru had been Gaara's first love. He had been hers as well. _

* * *

She drifted in and out of consciousness. Later, when the pain wasn't clouding her mind, she became aware of her surroundings.

They were in some sort of cave and Kakashi had managed to built a fire. Outside, she heard the wind howled.

"How long was I out?" she croaked. She hated the rasp of her voice.

"Thirteen-hours," Kakashi put more wood on the fire. Whatever supplies they had were stacked next to him as he leaned back on the cave wall.

He was wearing practically nothing. Everything he could spare, he had placed on top of her to keep her warm.

She closed her eyes tiredly and slept.

* * *

_He asked her to meet him at the the usual place, on the little hill that overlooked the Konoha memorial stone and Hokage monument._

_There had been a small flutter in her stomach when she spotted him. He was waiting with slouching shoulders and a bored expression. _

_Nara Shikamaru._

_He straightened when he noticed her. _

"_Hey," he greeted. _

_They stood side by side and watched as the sun began to dip lower. _

"_Ino's pregnant," he told her. _

_For one excruciating long moment, Temari could have choked on the surprise and bitterness. _

"_Congratulations," she finally managed to say. _

"_Thanks." _

_His hands went into his pockets. He looked directly into her eyes and she could see the burning regret in them. _

_Then he turned and left. _

_He never looked back. _

* * *

Insistent hands were shaking her shoulders.

Temari opened her eyes and noticed Kakashi peering down at her with concern. She mustered up the strength to shoved his hands away.

"You were thrashing," he said. "Nightmare?"

"None of your business," she snapped.

He placed a steaming bowl next to her.

Temari managed to lift her head a few inches to stared at the lumpy soup.

While she was distracted, he lifted the covers and lifted her shirt to prodded at her wound. She gave an involuntary hiss when he touched a tender spot. The blood was already seeping through the dressings.

Temari laid her head back down on the rolled up backpack.

His hands glowed blue as he sent healing chakra into her body. He couldn't fully close her wounds, but at least it slowed the blood loss considerably.

It was a miracle she had lived this long.

"You should eat," he said when he was finished.

"Later."

She had too much pride to tell him that she was so weak she couldn't even hold the spoon.

"Ah. I see."

Her stomach rumbled loudly. It seemed to echo in the cave.

"You heard nothing," she warned.

"Not a thing," he agreed.

In her boredom, she drifted off again.

* * *

"_You can't be serious! Are you saying I can't take the chunin exam?" she slammed her fist on the table and glared at the elders in the council. Her own father looked nonchalant. _

"_What we're saying is that we would like you to wait," one elder tried to appeased her. "We would like for you to be on the same genin team as your brothers." _

"_Brothers...as in Gaara?" _

_She felt herself pale. _

"_With that monster?" _

"_Yes. With that monster," her father said coolly. "When he comes of age, you will be assigned to the same team so that you can keep an eye on him." _

"_But-"_

"_You're dismissed." _

_He waved her off. _

_Furious, Temari left the tent. __She went into the woods and took out her frustration out on a tree. She kicked at the roots viciously. She should have been a chunin. Now, because a bunch of old geezers wanted her on babysitting duty, her dreams would have to be put off for two years. _

___Half of the field was leveled by the time she was done venting. _She didn't realize she had an audience until she turned, finding Gaara behind her. He watched her with blank, green eyes.

_The sand hovering around him alarmed her. _

"_Who are you?" he asked. He sniffed the air around her, like a woodland animal. Did he sense that she was kin?  
_

"_Your oneechan," she said. She felt her hands sweat nervously. She had never really met her youngest sibling face to face before. She and Kankuro had been raised separately from Gaara, but she'd heard the rumors. Nothing really prepared her to meet the monster that even Uncle Yashamaru couldn't kill.  
_

"_My sister?" _

"_Yes." _

_She waited. _

"_You look like Yashamaru," he said._

"_Yes. I look like our mom and uncle," she said awkwardly. "You and Kankuro look like our father." _

"_Kankuro?"_

"_Your aniki..." Did Gaara not know that he had family? He didn't seem aware of them, even though she and Kankuro knew of him. _

"_My brother?"_

"_Yes." _

_That's when she noticed the stuff bear. It was missing one button eye. Clunks of fur was missing in random spots. There was a rip on its left leg so large that the stuffing was spilling out and __somewhere down the line the bear seemed to have lost its smile._

_Someone had tried to patch the thing up. There wasn't any real effort put into it because the seam were horribly done, a cross-patched mess held together by thread that was too thick. It zigzag haphazardly across the brown fur. Temari had seen roadkill that looked better than the toy.  
_

_Gaara noticed her eyeing his bear and he held it tighter. _

_She almost felt pity for him. _

"_If you want..." she didn't even know why she was doing it. "If you want I can fix it for you." _

_He seemed to stare right through her, his glaze judging her. _

_He came towards her and the sand was getting thicker. _

_Temari swallowed hard. _

_When he was in front of her, he held out the bear. She took it between two fingers and almost cringed at the smell. _

_She took it home and he followed her. _

_He sat a distance away while she grabbed what she needed. She tossed the bear into the washer. When it was ready she began to sew. _

_She held it out proudly when it was done. _

_It looked almost as good as new. _

_She had re-stuffed the leg and redid the stitching. She had to sew a few old scraps of fabric on the missing fur, but she thought it gave the bear character. The button that she had used as a replacement eye had came from her favorite shirt. _

_She watched as Gaara took it. _

_He left without a word and she never saw him again until it was almost time for them to head towards Konoha as a visiting genin team. _

_She was too afraid to ask whatever happened with the bear. _

_When he became the Kazekage, she had walked passed his opened office door one day. She had to stop and take a step back. _

_It was there on his desk, sitting in the corner. _

_The smile she had sewn seem to beam brighter. _

* * *

"What happened with your team?" she asked when she woke up again.

"A few managed to get away. They're heading to Konoha for reinforcement."

In other words, Kakashi's team was annihilated. He acted as a decoy while the few lucky survivors were on their way to the closest village. Help should arrive in the next few days. That was assuming, of course, that the Akatsuki hadn't waylaid them.

"Did you see my second team?" she asked.

There was still Team B. She held out hope for them.

Kakashi handed her several suna insignia patches stained with blood. He had ripped them from their uniforms so that he could return them to the village.

"I'm sorry," he said.

They lapsed into silence. The only sound came from the crackling fire and the wind.

"Hey copy-nin," she said.

He looked at her questioningly.

She grimaced.

The temperature was dropping and the blizzard was picking up in intensity. From where she was lying, she could see the snow slowly creeping into the cave from the opening. It was building up faster than she had expected.

It was better to let him know where things stand.

She blindly reached down and touched her covered thighs. When she spoke it with a quiet, deadpanned tone.

"I don't think I can feel my legs."

It wasn't because it was numb from the cold.

Kakashi took the news in stride. He rolled her onto her side. Reaching over, he pressed his fingers against her back. He ran it along down her spine before he jabbed it and looked at her.

Temari shook her head.

"I can't feel it."

She couldn't feel a thing below her waist.

He rolled her back.

"It'll be fine," he said.

His voice was relax, but she could see his shoulders slightly tense. He reached over and patted her head like she was some kind of a child. She wanted to bat him away. His hand reminded her of Yashamaru, though, and she found herself leaning into his touch.

She found herself thinking of Nara.

If she died, would that guy cry for her?

She snorted inwardly.

She knew the answer.

He would bawl his eyes out.

That thought comforted her through the long night.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto.

**An**: Takes place during Shippoudan.

**Warning: **Bad grammar probably. English is not my first language. Also this is Kakashi and Temari pairing. Kinda.

**Summary: **For ten days she waited for rescue...

* * *

Release the Sickle

Day 2

* * *

_Dying was rather anticlimactic. It was a boring waiting game and she was never more relieved then when she closed her eyes and she went peacefully. Her soul rose from her body. Before she had realized it, she was watching from above as Kakashi nearly wore himself out, trying to bring her back._

"_Give it up, copy-nin," she muttered. _

_Konoha jounins weren't known for their sanity or for their common sense. She watch as he punched the ground in frustration before he went into action. He bundled her up. He threw her onto his back and uncaring of the blood that soaked his uniform, he went into the storm. _

_She followed him as he made his way down the mountain. He had forgo any supplies in lieu of carrying the weight of her body. He limped the entire way with his sprain ankle and with a broken arm.  
_

_All the while, he still sent his chakra into her lifeless body. _

_With the rest of his reserves, he summoned one of his ninken and allowed the dog to lead the way. _

_They fought for every step they took. The winds pushed furiously against them. The blinding white snow made it hard to see and the footing was treacherous. Within minutes, Kakashi was wading through it, hip deep in the drift. _

_By the time he managed to make it to the base of the mountain, days had passed. He was frozen and on the verge of joining her in the afterlife. _

_At the bottom, a scouting team and medic team were waiting. When neither Kakashi or Temari had reported in, Tsunade and Gaara had ordered a secondary team to investigate. The group, including a cranky Naruto and worried Sakura, couldn't make it pass the snowy weather. They were waiting impatiently for the storm to dissipate, hole up in their shelter. _

_One of jounins on watch gave a warning call when he saw something. They crawled out of their tents._

_Kakashi's lone figure trudged towards them. _

_Naruto had been the one to catch his teacher when he passed out and Sakura had been the one to uncover her blue, rigid body. _

_The pink haired kunoichi gasped and a hand went to her mouth. She was shoved aside by a figure in black who searched for any sign of life. _

_When he found none, Baki gathered her body into his arms. _

_He left while the medic nins tried to frantically revive Kakashi. _

_Temari tailed Baki as he strolled into his tent. He laid her down on his cot and got out a suna burial cloth. He regretfully placed it over her face. _

_This was it then...everything was really, truly over._

_Everything around her seemed to haze in a blur of colors. Suddenly, she was hovering over her funeral. _

_The entire Suna village was there. From among them she easily picked out Gaara and Kankuro. They were in front, face subdue and bitter. Kankuro had forgo his make-up for the ceremony. It was easier to see how pissed and angry he was as he stared at her body lying on the pyre.__ A hand landed on his shoulder comfortingly. _

"_Sorry about your sister, dude," Kiba said. "I don't know what I would do if anything happened to Hana." _

_It was a testimonial to how much Kankuro had grown. Years ago, he wouldn't have allowed anyone to pity him. He would have thrown off Kiba's hand with a huff. He would have pushed the little dog Akamaru away when the dog crawled onto his shoulder and gave a sad little whine. _

_Instead of pitching a fit, Kankuro had acknowledge the sympathetic gesture with a nod. _

_Kankuro had grown to be a well-adjusted man despite everything. _

_Temari felt something akin to pride well up in her chest._

"_Thanks, man," Kankuro said. He reached up and patted Akamaru's head. _

_He's going to be ok. He was far from forgiving her for breaking her promise, but he was strong. He would get over her death and move on with his life._

_Gaara would be fine as well. _

_Her younger brother, all decked in his Kazekage robes, radiated a quiet, calming strength as the Suna crowd behind him wept. Beside him was Naruto. _

_The blond had reached out and picked up her limp hand. _

"_I promise I'll get them," he swore. "They won't get away with it." _

_The Akatsuki...Naruto was promising to avenge her death. She couldn't see his eyes from where she was, but she would bet a year's salary that Naruto's eyes were unyielding and determined. _

"_Temari-sama," Matsuri sobbed. She was on the other side of Gaara._

_Towards the back of the crowd, there was a large group of Konoha nins. She saw the rest of the infamous Konoha eleven. There was Ten-ten, who looked sad and was fingering her weapons scroll, and Rock Lee, who was surprisingly mute and dressed in mourning black. Two figures caught her eye. They lingered in the back... _

_Shikamaru and Ino looked guilt-stricken and sick. _

_Temari floats to them and reached out to touched Ino's belly. Underneath her fingertip she felt a small flutter. _

_It was a girl. _

_They were going to name her Temari. _

_There was a loud rumble sound and Temari turned in time to see herself go up in flames. It was surreal to watch as the orange blaze engulf her still body. She was nothing more than ash now. _

_Everyone dispersed shortly afterward. _

_She remained in place wondering why she was still lingering there. She was forgetting something important..._

_It was well into the night, when she saw someone. _

_The shadow moved towards the burnt wood. _

_When the moonlight finally illuminated the figure, Temari was treated to the sight of Kakashi, wounded and wrapped in a mountain of bandages. _

_The mask jounin was bowing in respect. He lifted his head and turned towards her. He pulled his headband up and she saw his sharingan whirling in thought. _

_He stared right at her._

"_Can you see me?" she asked. _

_His eyes just smiled. _

"_Yo."_

* * *

"Yo."

The greeting pierced through the sleepy fog.

He was perched beside her, reading. He had angle himself so that the light from the fire glinted off the glossy orange cover. It forced her into waking because the insistent light from behind her close lids proved to much of an annoyance to ignore.

Temari opened her eyes warily.

There were many thing she could have said, curses she could have spat out, but she couldn't work up the energy.

She was too tired to care.

"How do you feel?" Kakashi asked.

"Like crap," she laid her head back in exhaustion.

"Another nightmare?"

"Not really."

It had been rather pleasant dreaming that she would be mourned when she passed on. As a bonus, it was almost heart warming to think that Shikamaru cared enough about her to name his daughter after her.

If that became reality, dying didn't seem so wholly bad.

And that was reality, wasn't it?

"I'm going to die."

She never meant to say it out loud, but the words just came out. It caught the jounin's attention.

"You're not going to die," Kakashi said. He put the book aside and moved to the fire.

Temari didn't feel reassured by his confident words. The gaping hole in her stomach told her a different story. This would be the seventh change of bandages that her blood had soaked through. She was still bleeding out. It was slow, but eventually the blood loss would get to the point where, despite Kakashi's best efforts, her death was inevitable.

Even if the Konoha nins made it back to the village and help was on the way, it would take even the best hunter nins days to trek through the storm and find the cave. It was time that Temari didn't have. The upper part of her body had already gone numb to match her legs.

If the blood loss didn't kill her, the cold would finish her off. Underneath the mounts of blankets and cloth that Kakashi draped over her, she couldn't get rid of the chills in her bones. She had been born and raised in Suna. Her body wasn't made to handle the harsh winter weather.

Konoha had a rather tropical climate. She was sure the jounins there weren't use to the freezing cold weather, either. She stared at Kakashi's lack of clothing as he bent over the bubbling pot. She opened her mouth to tell him to put his jacket on. His skin was bordering on a bluish tint. There was no point in both of them dying.

He turned towards her with a spoon in his hand.

"Taste this, will you?"

She almost choked when he stuffed a spoon full of broth down her throat.

"What the hell is that?" she gagged.

"Soup."

For all his genius like abilities, Kakashi couldn't cook. She wouldn't classify anything in that pot as food. Or anything edible. The oily aftertaste hung in the back of her throat and it was such a pungent favor that she doesn't think any amount of gargling or time would let her forget it.

He must have survived on take-out back in the village.

In the back of her mind, she grimly realized that there was a real likely possibility that she would die of food poisoning then from her wounds.

"Say ah..."

"Why you-"

He shoved another spoonful in her mouth.

"You bastard-"

Another spoonful was forced passed her lips.

"You-"

Another spoon. And another. He kept at it until the entire bowl was empty and her belly protested. Temari wondered if her face was as green as she felt.

Somehow, miraculously, she kept everything down.

From what she could tell from his expression, Kakashi looked pleased. He turned around so that his back was facing her. She grimaced when she heard the loud slurp. When he turned back, his masked was in place.

"I won't forget this," she swore. Kakashi would be one of the first ones she haunted. He was right on her mental bingo book list, along with the Akatsuki and the Uchiha brothers.

Kakashi didn't seem perturb by her threat. He just hummed and sat beside her, watching her condition with a sharp eye like a guard dog. He gave her stomach another check and another change of bandages.

He was steady-fast in his determination that he wouldn't let her die.

Temari noticed the slight jittery way he would glanced up at the ceiling, judging how stable it was. She wondered how much of his determination to save her was spun from the memory of that other comrade in another cave that he couldn't save.

When she died, Kakashi was going to bear the weight of it.

He must have noticed her staring at him and he gave her a questionable look.

"I can't sleep," she said simply. She found that her mind was too wired to get any rest.

"I see," Kakashi nodded sagely as if he had the answer. He pulled back out that orange book and began to read.

Temari twitched.

He was reading her a bedtime story. From Icha Icha Paradise no less.

Temari snorted as she listened.

She went to sleep with Kakashi's soothing voice in the background.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto.

**An**: Takes place during Shippoudan. Sorry, it took a bit to get out, but I hope the five people that read this, enjoy it. I'm very sorry it's short. Hopefully the next chapter, will be longer. Music of choice while writing this...Bad kids, by Lady Gaga.

**Warning: **Bad grammar probably. English is not my first language. Also this is Kakashi and Temari pairing. Kinda.

**Summary: **For ten days she waited for rescue...

* * *

**Release the Sickle**

Day 3

* * *

_Temari had been a sickly infant. In fact, no one had expected that she would make it through the first week of life. She had been born a month early and had been less than five pounds, a delicate little thing, wrinkled, red, and crying in pain. Uncle Yashamaru told her once that her mother had spent the entire time praying over her crib and Temari had looked on in wonder as he told her stories about a mother she could barely remember. _

"_Come here, Temari," he said softly. When she was three, she had gone in search of her father. Who she found instead was Uncle Yashamaru in her mother's room. _

_Temari pattered in and watched in curiosity as he riffled through the closet. He pulled out a white dress and he held it up to her. _

_The dress was too big for her, but it didn't stop her fingers from reaching out and touching the intricate lace. _

"_This was your mother's wedding dress," Uncle Yashamaru smiled. He had a far off look on his face. "Maybe someday you'd do the honor of wearing it on your wedding day..."_

_When Yashamaru died, Gaara had burned everything down in the house they shared. _

_The dress was probably among the items that was lost in the blaze. _

* * *

When she woke, it was to the shrieking wind. It was picking up harder now. Temari could feel the cold draft waffling through the cave and the chill seemed to make a permanent home in her aching joints.

"Copy-nin..." she called out huskily through her dry throat. The fire was dying out. More logs had to be added. When he didn't answer, she turned her head. He was still sitting in the same position and in the same spot with his eye closed, motionless. Icha Icha paradise hung loosely from his fingertips and he was disturbingly blue. From the distance, she couldn't tell if he was breathing.

When a few rocks dislodged from the ceiling, she was unprepared for Kakashi's body when he threw himself on her. His heavy weight knocked the breathe out of her and she grunted in pain.

She looked up through blurred eyes as he hovered over her.

His eye were glassy and dazed. Underneath his mask, she could see a sheen of sweat. His hair had lost their spikiness and it fell limply against clammy skin.

"How long?" she asked. How long had he been watching over her ignoring the fact that his own wounds were inflamed, that his own body was suffering from the cold, and that he had a high fever?

How long had he been sending his chakra into her when he should have been using it to heal himself?

Kakashi didn't answer.

He seemed lost in a memory, unaware of his surroundings.

He had panicked when the rocks came down and had been quick to shield her. It didn't take a genius to figure out where his thoughts were.

"Get under the covers," she said tiredly.

She could tell he was sicker than he let on when he didn't question her orders. He was strangely obedient and his body moved on automation. He shoved aside the blankets and crawled in with her.

"Keep your hands to yourself," she added.

His warmth soak into her bones as they laid side by side.

"Sleep."

He closed his eye and his body went limp.

She kept watch as the hours passed.

At one point, he muttered out a name. He curled his body around her like some big cat and tucked his head into her neck. His hand found hers underneath the covers and he held it in a tight grip.

"Oi, are you awake?" Temari turned to look at him.

"Nah, he's out like a light," a guff voice said.

Temari stiffen when she noticed something move through the covers.

A small body popped out between her and Kakashi. The ninken wiggled between them and he gave her a nod in greeting.

The name that Kakashi had mumbled...

"Pakkun?"

"Yes, that's me," the dog nodded. He tucked his paws underneath his body as he sank down heavily on his protruding stomach.

Even with his chakra draining low, Kakashi had unconsciously summoned one of his ninken. She didn't know whether he was remarkable or just remarkably stupid. The least he could have done was summon a ninken that was useful. Not one that looked like one of those stuff toys that young village girls carrying in their purses.

The animal sneezed twice.

"Hm? Someone must be thinking about me," Pakkun remarked. He gave her a curious look. "You are?"

"Temari of the sand."

"Nice to meet you," he waggled his eyebrow.

Pakkun turned his attention and gently patted Kakashi's masked face in comfort. He got to his feet and headed to the entrance. When he came back, he had a handkerchief in his mouth that had been soaked wet with the snow.

Temari watched as the dog climbed onto Kakashi's chest. He dropped the cloth on the jounin's forehead and used his two front paws to rearrange the make shift cold press. His movements were practiced and smoothed.

"You've done this before."

"Once or twice," Pakkun admitted.

Temari took back what she thought about Pakkun being useless. The dog took care of everything, from nudging the wood into the fire to keep it going, to making sure Kakashi's fever didn't get any worst.

He even offered to take over her watch.

"You can sleep, I'll keep guard," the pug offered.

"It's fine."

Even as she was dismissing it, her eyes were already heavy.

"Rest is good," Pakkun said.

"I'll be getting plenty of rest later," she said without much humor.

"Is that so?" Pakkun looked grave.

Temari was distracted when Kakashi's failing arms had caught her painfully in the abdomen.

"Sorry, kiddo," the ninken looked genuinely sorrowful as the blood began spreading through the covers. There was only so much Pakkun could do without opposing thumbs.

He offered her his paw with a solemn look.

"It's very supple," he said. "It'll make you feel better."

In a strange sort of way, it did.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto.

**An**: People who read don't always review. That's why everyone who do is loved deeply by me and is appreciate. Thanks. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

**Warning: **Bad grammar probably. English is not my first language. Also this is Kakashi and Temari pairing. Kinda.

**Summary: **For ten days she waited for rescue...

* * *

**Release the Sickle**

Day 4

* * *

_She was the Kazekage's daughter. Therefore a certain amount of decorum was expected of her. She stood by her father, chin up and proud, as the guests came forward to announce themselves. She kept her glaze steady even when the snake-like man approached. His eyes studied her with unabashed interest and inwardly, she sneered at him with disgust. _

_He screamed pedophile no matter which way she gauged him. _

_The man looked amused as he continued to stare her down. There was an invisible, threatening cloud hovering around him; a sort of violent musical chord that only she could hear. Everyone else seemed to flock to him, enticed by the power he emitted. He flicked his long dark hair back and even that one innocuous move made every nerve in her body stand on edge. _

_A chill went down her spine. _

_For the first time, outside of Gaara, Temari knew what it was like to fear another person. She almost took a step back when he came closer. _

_"Temari," her father introduced. "Meet Suna's newest ally." _

_The man grinned. Even his smile had a snake-like quality to it. He held out a hand and Temari had no choice, but to shake it. _

"_Temari-chan, was it?" he asked. His eyes glinted. "I'm Orochimaru." _

_She disliked him. Kankuro didn't take a shining to him either. Gaara was indifferent. _

_Temari didn't miss the way the man's eyes lingered on Gaara thoughtfully. _

_When they sat down to the dinner party she leaned over to whisper to Kankuro._ "_After dinner, stay near Gaara."_

_Kankuro paled. "Near Gaara?" _

"_Yeah. I've got a bad feeling about that man." _

_Orochimaru noticed her staring and raise his glass in a toast.  
_

"_But he's scary," Kankuro whispered, hedging a look at Gaara sitting alone at the end of the table. _

"_Just do it." Temari kicked him under the chair to show how serious she was. _

_When the guests began to mingle on the open floor, Kankuro did what he was told. _

"_What do you think?" Her father asked when he came to stand by her. From their vantage point, they had an unobstructed view of Orochimaru slithering his way around the room.  
_

"_I don't trust him," Temari said promptly. _

_There might have been a slight smile on her father's face, but it was gone in a flash. _

"_You have good instincts about people," he praised._

_Temari swelled with pride. _

_"You'd make a very good tactician with more experience," her father continued. He gave her a regarded look."I want you to accompany me to a meeting tomorrow." _

_"What about Kankuro and Gaara?" she asked. _

"_Your useless brothers can stay where they are," he patted her on the shoulder and moved on._

_Glowing with the praise, Temari turned and stopped in her tracks. _

_Kankuro looked angry as he stood with Gaara. _

"_Where are you going?" Temari asked when Kankuro headed for the door. _

"_Going somewhere so this useless son doesn't embarrass him anymore." _

_Kankuro stormed away, leaving her with a bored looking Gaara. _

_From the corner of her eyes, she saw Orochimaru head their way.  
_

_In the morning, Temari felt exhausted. Playing bodyguard for Gaara the entire night left her tired. Still, there was a certain amount of excitement building as she prepared to leave. She was up, dressed, and ready to go before the sun even rose. _

_When her father and his bodyguards went through the gate, Temari was there along side them. _

* * *

"You okay?" Pakkun questioned when she jerked to consciousness.

She felt the ninken's heavy weight on her chest as Pakkun climbed to check on her temperature.

"You have a fever," Pakkun announced. He yanked his paw from her forehead.

"Of course I do," Temari groused. At this point, she wouldn't be surprised if the Akatsuki popped in and finished her off.

Next to her, Kakashi shuddered as his own fever peak. He used her like a body pillow. His arms and legs were flung over hers and he pulled her close to his overheated body.

Kakashi must have been an octopus in a past life. With his roaming hands and feet, there wasn't a single part of her that he hadn't touched. Temari felt suffocated as he continued to hold onto her tightly.

"What's he like?" she asked Pakkun.

"Kakashi?"

"Yes."

The sudden urge to know who she was spending her final days with washed over her.

"What do you want to know?" Pakkun asked. His ears perked with attention.

"I don't care. Anything."

"Hmm...let's see...he's a prodigy, you know..."

Temari was sick of prodigies. Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha were prodigies. So was Orochimaru. More than half of the nins that were considered prodigies turned out to be dicks.

"...chunin at six years old..."

Temari felt the bile in her throat rise along with her temperature. Pakkun stopped in worry when she began to hack violently. Her entire body arched up as she struggled to control her coughing.

"Keep talking," she rasped.

"Ok, if you want me to," Pakkun hesitantly complied.

Kakashi's child-like image followed her into a fitful sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto.

**An**: Takes place during Shippoudan. Slightly AU in some parts. Thanks for still reading. This update came way later because of computer issues, a full time job, intrusive family members, and bronchitis. Huh. Must be Christmas. Happy holiday, everyone!

**Warning: **Bad grammar probably. English is not my first language. Also this is Kakashi and Temari pairing. Kinda.

**Summary: **For ten days she waited for rescue...

* * *

**Release the Sickle**

Day 5

* * *

_Gaara wasn't exactly the conversational type. None of them were. Maybe it was something they inherited from their father; that need and craving for silence. Half the time they said nothing to each other. They used facial expressions and body language to communicate. _

_A hand raise by Gaara meant 'Shut up or die.' _

_A lift of the eyebrow from Kankuro meant that something was coming. Probably something unpleasant._

_An annoyed tick at her temple meant that they had another useless mission to go on, one she thought was beneath them. _

_As children of the Kazekage, Temari expected to received more important and urgent missions befitting the fact that they were the best genin team that Suna had. They weren't some rag-tag team that needed to train through weed pulling or looking for lost pets. _

_Temari tried to keep her irritation hidden as they made their way home from another boring C-rank mission. They didn't even break out a sweat. The only water running down their brow came from the pouring rainstorm they got caught in. _

_Kankuro looked miserable as his make-up ran. _

_Gaara was apathetic. He was ahead of them leaping from tree branch to tree branch, uncaring of the rain pelting at them. _

_"Is he alright with the gourd?" Temari turned to Kankuro with a slight frown. "The rain must be making the sand heavy." _

_"Right now I'm more worried about us," Kankuro grumbled. "We shouldn't be in the trees." _

_As if to prove his point several bolts of lightening lit the sky. _

"_Say something to him, will you?" he complained. Kankuro held Crow above their heads. Temari pretended not to notice Kankuro shifting Crow so that she was mostly covered. _

"_Why me?" she reached down and wrung the excess water from her outfit. _

"_Because he listens to you...sometimes," Kankuro shrugged. "And he likes you better." _

_No argument there._

"_You have to get him to stop and find some shelter," Kankuro looked dejectedly at Crow who was warping underneath his fingers. "Besides, Crow doesn't make a good umbrella." _

_Temari straightened her shoulders with resignation. "Fine." _

_She ignored Kankuro's grateful and pitying look as she leapt forward to catch up with Gaara. When she was on the same tree branch as her youngest brother, Temari kept her voice light. _

"_Gaara." _

_Gaara's eyes shifted to stare at her. _

_Temari gave him a strained smile. "Let's stop and rest, alright? The storm's getting worst." _

_He didn't seem to listen. He kept going and Temari threw a look back at Kankuro. _

_Gaara suddenly disappeared down below and Temari skidded to a stop. _

"_Where did he go?" Kankuro gaped. _

_By the time they found him, Gaara was already inside a small shelter made naturally by the twisting bushes and the trees. _

_It was big enough for them to stay in until the storm passed. _

"_Thank you, Gaara." _

_Gaara simply ignored her. _

___It was as close to a 'you welcome' as she was going to get. _

* * *

"You call out their names a lot, did you know that?" Pakkun asked, somewhat amused.

"My brothers?" she tried to clarify."Kankuro and Gaara?"

"Yup," Pakkun nods. "If you're not careful someone's going to think you have a brother complex." The ninken pulled the covers higher over her with his teeth and checked her temperature again. Her fever had risen a few more degrees.

"You just can't seem to catch a break, huh?" He tried to give her a reassuring look, but Temari could see the worry in his eyes. "How do you feel?"

"My head hurts."

The ache pounded rather unmercifully behind her eyes.

"Just bare with it, kid. You're doing great," Pakkun comforted. "Tell me more about your brothers. One of them is a Jinchuriki, right?"

"He was," Temari mumbled.

Before Pakkun could ask her another question, Temari lost consciousness.

* * *

___Temari felt her knees tremble right before she fell to Kankuro's bedside. The medic nin spoke quietly and frankly. The poison wasn't at its peak yet. It would get worst, much worst, before it gets better.  
_

_"__Will he make it?" Temari was almost afraid of the answer. _

_"__It depends on how strong he is. If he could get through the next seventy-two hours he should make a full recovery." _

___A cough at the door interrupted them.  
_

___The nin excused herself to give Baki and Temari some privacy. _

_"__Anbu is tracking Gaara as we speak," Baki said. "We'll have word soon." _

___He hands her a scroll and waits as she unfurls it. _

_"__What's this?" _

_"__An injunction contesting your rights to act as the interim Kazekage," Baki kept his glaze steady. "There's already three injunctions sitting on the elders councils desk. A formal interview is going to be ____held in an hour." _

_"__Gaara hasn't even been gone a day," Temari snarled. Those power hungry vultures were already gunning for Gaara's seat._

_"__Politics is the name of the game," Baki reminded her. "If you don't take the position, someone else will." _

___Someone with less scruples was left unsaid. _

___Temari grabbed the pen and jabbed her name on the scroll angrily. _

_"__Keep your cool," Baki warned her. "The elders are going to be the ones deciding who takes Gaara's place." _

___Temari glanced down at the comatose Kankuro. _

_"__Don't worry. I don't place on losing."_

___When she stroll into that meeting, she ignored the whispers and the glares. She sat down with crossed legs in one of the four chairs in the middle of the room. _

___Her smile was cold. _

* * *

"I'm too old for this," Pakkun complained. He continued to wring the cold cloth over her face.

"That's it, kid. Wake up," Pakkun encouraged. The water woke her slightly.

Temari's eyes were dazed.

* * *

_"__Kazekage-sama?" _

___Temari hid the cringe she felt every time she was addressed. Looking up from her desk, Temari pushed aside the paperwork. The nin at that the door shifted nervously.  
_

_"__He's awake." _

___Temari was up and out of the room before the nin could speak further. She was down the hall and inside the room. She pushed aside all the nins and ordered them out. _

_"__Of course, Kazekage-sama," they chorused. _

___Another inward cringe. _

___The moment they were alone, Temari grabbed for Kankuro's hand. _

___His eyes were barely open. He still looked gaunt and sickly, but he was awake now. It was the first good news she's had in days. _

_"__Gaara?" he croaked. _

_"__The moment you get better we'll go and find him," Temari promised. She held onto his hand a little tighter as he drifted off. _

_"__Nee-san?" _

___It's been years since he called her that. _

_"__Yeah?" Her voice was a little thick. _

_"__Will you stay?" he asked sleepily. _

_"__Yeah." _

___She had all her paperwork delivered to her that day. _

* * *

"Kakashi! Finally!"

Temari was dimly aware of the body next to her shifting. Suddenly, she felt a warm sensation course through her.

When she managed to fight through the fog, she saw Kakashi looming above her with his hand held over her stomach. He was trying to seal her wound.

"She's going under again, Kakashi!"

* * *

___Gaara was dead. _

___Temari held onto his body, numb. _

___Gaara didn't deserve this. He had been making strides. He had Shukaku under-control and he was finally starting to live normally, or as normally as he could. Gaara even had friends. _

___Temari could feel Naruto's grief from behind. _

_"__Temari," Kankuro reached down to pull her away. _

___There was a flash of light. _

___Suddenly, Gaara moved in her arms. He opened his eyes and he sat up with a hand to his head. _

_"__How?" Temari's jaw dropped. _

___She heard the sounds of tears and turned around to see the pink haired kunoichi weeping over an elderly woman. _

___Temari wasn't one for prayers. She believed more in will-power and strength. On that day, however, she said a prayer for the woman whose sacrifice brought Gaara back. _

___While Kankuro took care of Gaara, Temari walked over to the crying girl. Sakura, was it? Temari placed a hand on Sakura's arm. When the girl turned around, she grabbed onto Temari and held onto her tightly, sobbing her heart out. _

___Temari just patted her back in compassion. _

* * *

Kakashi's haggard face was the first thing Temari saw when she was revived. Like with Sakura all those months ago, she placed a hand on Kakashi's arm.

"Stop," she ordered.

He didn't listen. He fixedly continued to pour his chakra into her and it washed through her like a calming river.

Kakashi started to sway unsteadily.

At the last moment before he collapsed, he managed to pull her into his grasp.

Together they fell sleep as Pakkun sweatdropped.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto.

**An**: Its been a while, hasn't it? I'm so sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. Lady Writer's Block can be a real pain in the you-know-what. I kept writing, deleting, and rewriting and after months of struggle, here is the result. I want to thank everyone who encouraged me to continue. I hope I don't disappoint. I took some liberty with the timeline, but it isn't something too drastic.

**Warning: **Bad grammar probably. English is not my first language, but I'll try to make sure its not glaringly obvious. Also this is Kakashi and Temari pairing. Kinda.

**Summary: **For ten days she waited for rescue...

* * *

**Release the Sickle**

Day 6

* * *

_He crie__s__. _

_Without shame, with abandonment, right there in the middle of the hospital floor for everyone to see. _

_The stress, the harsh words from his father, the fact that he had failed in his mission to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke... it had all boiled over and the last time Temari had seen someone cry that hard it had came from a guy who was on the unfortunate end of her wind sickle. _

_Nara sobbed like his world was ending. __  
_

_"Cheer up," she practically shoved her handkerchief into his face. __The light heartiness of that idiot Naruto must be rubbing off on her, because honestly, she thinks Nara deserved better._ "Real men don't cry."

_Temari would never admit to the slight skip her heart did when his eyes focused on her. _

_Nara dries his tears and Temari nods in approval. _

* * *

Temari's too haggard to fight as the memories surged behind her closed eyes. Shikamaru's image burns on the back of her eyelids, but she's prepared for it. She had spent days mentally strengthening herself. The flashes of memories that she's been having would have led to Shikamaru sooner or later and the last thing she wanted was for the ninken or Kakashi to see her vulnerable and weak.

Still...the familiar drooping figure made her eyes water slightly. If someone would have told her then that the boy with the snot running down his face would become a friend, her closest friend actually, she would have laughed, then sic Kamatari on them.

Somewhere, between the search for Uchiha and the time they fought Tayuya, he became someone important to her...

* * *

_She met him halfway on the grassy field noting that the only thing he had left of his teacher was a cigarette after Anbu carted the body off. _

_His clothes is still stained with blood._

_"Its okay to cry," she said to him. _

_"I thought you said real men don't cry," he said, repeating her words from two years ago. _

_"I'll make an exception this one time." _

_She offers him her shoulder and he takes her up on it, lying his forehead against her collarbone. Her arms automatically comes up to wrap around his body. She felt his tears soak her shirt as he grasped at the sleeves of her kimono. He's quiet this time. It wasn't anything like the time his father scolded him. _

_This time Shikamaru is oddly still. _

_He falls into a deep sleep afterwards. Her arms around him are the only thing keeping him on his feet. _

_Choji and Ino, grief stricken, comes for him. _

_Temari watches as Choji lifted Shikamaru carefully and throws him over a shoulder.  
_

_As he walks away, Ino follows. _

_They left together, huddled against one another closely, as if they were afraid any small distance would cruelly separate them. _

* * *

The moment Asuma dies is when she and Shikamaru starts to drift apart and Ino and Shikamaru starts to drift closer..._  
_

The betrayal still hurts when she thinks on it...

* * *

_"Ino's pregnant."_

_In the week following her break from Shikamaru after his confession, she doesn't tell him that Baki has finally found her father's body. It had been lying in a shallow grave, toss in with the bodies of his guards and then left in the middle of the desert, a forgotten, passing thought. _

_Sand and time had mummified the remains leaving a dry, husky shell. She stared at the emaciated body lying on the burial table, her throat constricting painfully as her eyes took in every detail, committing it to memory.  
_

_"He doesn't have a face," she finally says. _

_She couldn't tear her eyes away from the smooth flesh where her father's features use to be. _

_"It's a trade-mark of Orochimaru," Baki said. "A face stealing jutsu." _

_He paused.  
_

_"Do you want me to tell Kankuro and Gaara?" _

_It was a quiet offer, meant to give Temari a supporting hand. _

_"No," she shook her head. "I'll tell them."_

_She comforts Kankuro and wraps an arm around a blank-faced Gaara when she breaks the news. _

_She made sure that her father's body is cremated before Kankuro or Gaara could see his face._

* * *

For months afterwards, her faceless father haunts her dreams..._  
_

She was glad for the distraction when it was decided that nins from all supporting villages would be broken into division according to their skills...

* * *

_The fourth division is the division made for nins who specialize in long ranged attacks. _

_It's made up of mostly sand nins. _

_It was lead by Shikamaru._

_Things were awkward for the first few days. They had to adjust to being in the same space again. Slowly they fell back into an old, familiar routine and with ease Temari found herself finishing __Shikamaru's sentences. _

_Shikamaru offer her a slow grin across the table and Temari found herself smirking back. _

_Dodai, the nin from Kumogakure, looks between them with a frown, but he kept his mouth shut. _

_When she left the tent, Temari stops to stare as a visibly preganat Ino waddles by. _

_She grits her teeth against the annoying pang she feels in her chest. _

* * *

She had lost her mother, her uncle, her father, and in a less permanent type of way, she had lost Shikamaru...

Temari never broke, she was too strong-willed for that, but it didn't mean that she didn't have any cracks...

* * *

_On the battlefield, Temari halted when she caught sight of Orochimaru off to the side. She remembered her father, his barren face, and something like pure, bitter, unfiltered rage rolls through her. She made an abrupt turn and heads in his direction._

_Orochimaru watched her come with a mocking smirk._

_"You idiot!" Steel arms caught her about the waist and Shikamaru dug his heels into the ground in an attempt to stop her._

_All it took was that one split moment and Orochimaru made his escape._

_Enraged, Temari turned around and punched Shikamaru. Caught by surprise, he sailed backwards into Choji's stunned arms. Shikamaru's hand reached up to cradle his jaw.  
_

_"Mari!" Kankuro grabbed her by the arm. "Not now!"_

_The bombs from the laughing blond Akatsuki made the ground rumble. A few yards from where she was, she saw Baki, Kakashi, and Gai get thrown by the Akatsuki with the piercings. __Gaara and Naruto fought back to back against Uchiha. Skirting around the battle, trying to heal or teleport away their wounded, was Naruto's pinked hair teammate. _ All around Temari, nins from Suna, Konoha, and their allies were fighting.  


_The skirmishes around the field grew more heated.  
_

_"Fine," Temari spat, reining in her temper._

_She turned her attention to the Akatsuki with shark-like features._

_When the battle was over, ending with both sides retreating, still caked in sweat and filth Temari arrived at the commanding tent for Division Four and waits for the reprimand from Shikamaru. _

_"You broke formation," he told her when the tent emptied out and there were only the two of them. His entire posture slouched even more than usual. "You were reckless and stupid. You could have gotten yourself killed." _

_He tried to read her expression, his dark eyes boring into her. _

_"Are we done?" Temari was curt. _

_"I'm pulling you from t__he front lines," he said. He added, "Temporarily," when she opened her mouth to protest. "Gaara has already agreed to it."  
_

___Shikamaru__ moved passed her to walk out the tent. He stopped at the entrance. _In a quiet voice, he said, "Gaara and Kankuro aren't the only ones who would miss you if something were to happen." 

_The sound of the closing flap makes the silence ten-times louder. _

_____Two weeks later, when the opportunity rose, she choose the mission to Mount Gojo without a second thought. _

_____She was such a fucking coward, running away like that..._

* * *

Temari ignores Pakkun's yelp when she tried to rise.

Her entire body wouldn't follow her command to get up, to get to her feet, to get out of the cave and to the one person she needed to make amends with.

"Whoa, keep still," Pakkun laid his paws on her chest in worry. "Your fever-"

"I have to tell him I'm sorry," the nausea sent her reeling back down into the bedding.

"You will," Pakkun said soothingly. "Just rest and get better." He managed to push her back down into the covers and Temari moaned in pain. Pakkun looks mournful. "Tell you what kid, I'll let you sleep for a little bit and then I'll wake you up for lunch, okay?"

He replaced the wet cloth on her forehead with one that was cooler, and he laid and waited for her to drift off.

Even with his encouragement, Temari never slept that night; her body aching too much for her to truly rest.

Besides, what hurts the most wasn't the wounds or the fever.

It was the regrets.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Naruto._

**An**: We're finally getting into a little more Kakashi and Temari interaction in this chapter. It's been a while in coming, hasn't it? Oh well, enjoy!

**Warning: **Bad grammar probably. English is not my first language. Also this is Kakashi and Temari pairing. Kinda.

**Summary: **For ten days she waited for rescue...

* * *

**Release the Sickle**

_Day __7_

* * *

Kakashi woke in a bleary, slow motion. If he found the fact that he was completely intertwined with her strange, his entire body plastered to her like glue, he didn't show it openly. He just carefully untangled himself. He pulled away and sat up. One of his palm came to rest on her forehead to gauge her temperature.

His hand is like a hot iron branding onto her skin. Temari could feel his fever bleed through their contact and she tries to shift away. Her head feels like it's boiling enough without adding his heat to the mix.

"Easy kid," Pakkun soothed. His paw stroked her cheek. He tried to distract her as Kakashi lifted the covers.

Temari reluctantly relaxed under the ninken's touch.

Kakashi's moves are sluggish. His fingers were clumsy as he worked on removing the blood soaked dressings. Temari sees him grimace slightly as he peels away the congealed layers one by one. It's been days since her bandages was last changed. Some of the fabric stuck to her skin and he had to yank it free, taking some flesh with it.

He looks at her carefully each time to see how she would react.

Temari has been through worst.

She did bite through her lips, though, at a particular rough pull when one bandage clung stubbornly. The blood welled up in her mouth and Kakashi rolled her on her side so that she could spit. It must have been minutes, but it felt more like hours, before he was finally finish wrapping the last of the clean dressing on her stomach.

He laid down and pulls her against him.

They are face to face this time.

"Are you lucid?" Temari asked warily. She had to ask because Kakashi's eye was scanning over her features with thoughtful stare. His arm came to curl around her waist.

She remembers how handsy he was when he was unconscious.

"I think I am," Kakashi hums back.

Pakkun snuggled his body into the space in between them so that he could share in their warmth. The jounin lifted a hand to gently pat the ninken on the head and they had a silent conversation as they exchanged looks.

_'Are you okay?'_ the ninken asked. Pakkun's expression and Kakashi's body language were easy to read.

_'I'm fine.'_ Kakashi answered.

_'Good.'_ -the ninken looked satisfied.

Kakashi looks above Pakkun's head to meet her glaze.

"I think there's something you need to know," Kakashi tells her hesitantly.

Temari stilled for the bad news.

"I tend to be a cuddler," he confessed. His eye was mirthful as she stares at him blankly.

"Is that all?" she asked flatly.

"Are you going to be uncomfortable?" he cocked an eyebrow.

"No," Temari gave him a look. "I'm pretty sure you've touched everything already."

He paled.

"How old are you?" he asked. She didn't miss the way he tried to edge his legs away and the way he tried to reposition his arm. He was trying to give her some privacy, as little as it was.

Temari closed her eyes in tiredness. "Old enough, don't worry."

She was the one to pull him closer when he didn't move.

He was a genius. Between modesty and frostbite, he knew which one mattered most. He lost the reluctance and he tightened his grip around her. "Do I have to worry about a jealous boyfriend?" he questioned.

'Do I have to worry about Nara poisoning me?' was what Kakashi was really asking.

"No," she opened one eye. "I'd be more worried about Kankuro."

"That's the one with the make-up and dolls?" Pakkun pipped up.

"War-paint," Temari automatically corrected. "and puppets."

For the first time in a long while, Temari genuinely smiled.

"Do I have to worry about someone?" she asked back.

"I don't have a jealous boyfriend, no." Kakashi replied, rather cheery.

Temari snorts.

She feels the trembles right before her entire body began to convulsed violently. Her spine arched painfully and her limbs jerked wildly around as Kakashi and Pakkun bolts up. She clawed at her throat, her eyes bulging wide. She wretched pitifully as she chokes on her own blood.

Temari thinks she might have belted Kakashi in the face, broke his nose possibly, and she might have sent Pakkun flying through the air to the other side of cave. Her memory is vague and disjointed.

She does remember, however, the ninken's gruff voice. He talks comfortingly into her ears.

"Did you know..." and "Here's what happened..." permeates through her thoughts. The ninken told her stories, hoping to calm her as Kakashi tried to hold her down.

Soon, her memories and Pakkun's spiel began to mix together, merging into an odd blend of conflicting visions...

* * *

_"Oi, Nee-san. Do you think I can get a shuriken set for my birthday?" A four-year-old Kankuro asked hopefully._

* * *

_Kakashi was almost fifteen when he became a father. He looked down at the squirming bundle in his hands and at the pup staring right back up at him. His eyes crinkled._

_"Yo," he said. _

_He smirked when the baby pug answered back with an unsure,"Yo?" _

* * *

_Gaara bled for the first time and Temari bit back a curse. Her knuckles turned white as she grabbed for the railing. Her eyes stared at the kid wearing the green spandex and the bowl-cut hair style._

_"Oh shit," Kankuro gulped. His body was leaning into the arena. "That guy is as good as dead!"_

* * *

_Kakashi stared at the three kids sitting in front of him as Pakkun watched from outside the classroom window. The girl with the bright pink hair looked eager. The emo-looking boy looked bored and the blond one wearing the orange jump suit looked skeptical. _

_"I think," Kakashi brushed off the chalk from his hair and his shoulders. "I don't like you." _

* * *

_Kankuro looked happy and relax after the hot-spring. Even the chore of hustling an unconscious Naruto to bed (who got what he deserve for trying to peek at her) didn't seem to phase him. _

"_A sand bath," Kankuro urged. "Think about it." _

_Temari thought about Gaara's sand burial and she practically face-faulted. When she told him that she didn't think it was such a good idea, Kankuro looks disappointed. _

* * *

_Sensei's gift for Kakashi's sixteenth birthday was something flat, a book probably, wrapped in a glittery, gaudy wrapping paper. Kakashi stares at the present with a wary look. When he woke up that morning, it was on his nightstand with a note. _

_'Happy Birthday, Kiki. I think you're finally old enough to appreciate this particular brand of literature. ' _

_It was signed with a winky face. _

_Pakkun, sitting on Kakashi's shoulder, leaned down to sniffed the package with curiosity. _

_Kakashi and Pakkun were treated to the sight of a brightly colored orange book once the wrapping paper was thrown away. _

_"Icha Icha Paradise?" Kakashi read with a frown. _

_He picked a random page and turned to it. _

_Kakashi and Pakkun's eyes widened. _

* * *

_On Temari's seventh birthday, the present her father gave her was almost twice her size._

_"Use it well," her father told her. _

_"It's so pretty!" Temari was in awe. She reached out to touch the metal. Her father flicked it open and Temari sees the image of three purple moons etched onto the iron fan. He closed it and handed it to her. _

_Temari almost falls underneath the massive weight, but determination keeps her on her feet._

_She totes her fan with her all morning. _

* * *

_Obito tripped. He tripped and it sent him crashing into Kakashi, le__a__ding their bod__ies into__ getting tangled on the ground. Obito's lips accidentally landed on Kakashi's clothed one and they froze. _

_Pakkun looked on in __amusement._

_Rin was gaping a few feet away and Obito looked stricken as he looked up. _

_"Rin-chan...it's not what it looks like?" Obito offered helplessly. He probably would have helped his case if he'd bothered to moved off of Kakashi. _

_Rin twitched. "Really?" _

_Obito, sensing danger, yelps. __He __gets__ up and starts running for his life __as Rin chases after him__. _

_Kakashi sat up. _

_"__How was your first kiss?" Pakkun asked. _

_Kakashi just shrugged. _

* * *

_"You three are the desert," __her father __told her. __They were training in a quiet part of Suna and he starts to make conversation, something he wasn't prone to doing often. It caught Temari's attention. She stopped and listened. __"Gaara is the sand, harsh and unforgiving. Kankuro is the sun, hot-tempered and bright..."_

_He paused. _

_"And you, Temari, you are the wind..." _

_He then tells her he needs her to go on a solo mission. Something covert, S-rank. She couldn't tell anyone where she was going or why. _

_She disappeared out of the village that very night carrying a small bag filled only with what she needed. _

_It takes her three months before she's back in Suna. _

_She will never forget Kankuro's angry tear streaked face or Gaara holding onto his bear tightly as they greeted her at the gate. _

* * *

Temari died.

For eleven minutes, her heart had stopped. She wasn't breathing and Kakashi couldn't find a pulse. For eleven minutes, Kankuro and Gaara had lost a mother-figure and a sister. Baki had lost a student. Suna had lost a nin.

Temari could still feel the heavy impact of Kakashi's hands on her chest from where he forced her heart to beat.

"You scared us," Pakkun says when she manages to comes back around to consciousness. The sweat dripped from his fur. His paw wiped the sweat from his brow. He swore to her that for the time that she was gone, he had multiple heart attacks. He makes her feel his heartbeat as proof. "I think you took ten years off my life, kid." He gets up to his feet and gives her a smile before he ambles off to get another cold press ready.

It was just her and Kakashi then.

Temari grabbed his wrist.

"Thank you," she rasped.

He nods.

Kakashi's hand is on her chest, resting right over top her heart, when she drowsily drifts off.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Disclaimer**__: I don't own Naruto._

**An**: Getting close to the end...

**Warning: **Bad grammar probably. English is not my first language. Also this is Kakashi and Temari pairing. Kinda.

**Summary: **For ten days she waited for rescue...

* * *

**Release the Sickle**

_Day __8_

* * *

_The battle had been short. Brutal, but short. The aftermath__ wasn't all that much better as the nins that could be spared spread across the field looking for survivors. There would be a shout when someone was discovered alive. After a while the shouts got fewer and fewer until there was nothing but the sound that came from uniforms rustling and heavy footsteps as they moved to burn the bodies of their dead.  
_

___Temari was caked in the blood of the Suna nins she found. _

___She crouched in the dirt next to an unmoving figure. Turning the nin over, she saw the Suna headband. Her fingers moved automatically to form the hand seals. With one loud crack, the flame that ignited caught onto the dead nin's clothes. Fire engulfed the body and Temari left the dead nin behind to burn away as she moved on. She paused over the next nin she found. The kunoichi's wild red hair reminded her of Gaara. Sightless green eyes stared vacantly up and speckles of freckles stood out against shallow pale skin. The girl wasn't that much older than Kankuro. This was what war did, Temari thinks with a tired slouch. It just takes and takes until there was nothing left. _

___Temari left the female nin for her village to find when she noticed the Iwaga headband. ____ She passed by a jounin from Konoha who looked grim as he burned his comrade. She _nodded in thanks when a Kumoga nin pointed to the body of a Suna nin that was lying nearby.  


___It takes until sunset before she and the other nins that were spearheading the recovery and disposal were done. _At camp, she wearily moved out of the way of _nins that were heading ____for the medic unit. __S____he sees Shikamaru up ahead. He looks exhausted. There was fresh blood on him that he hadn't had the time to wash off. His face is dirty, his clothes were torn, and she could make out the faint trembles in his knees. _

___Before she could move towards him, Ino comes into her line of sight. The pregnant nin reached out with a clean handkerchief to wipe the sweat off Shikamaru's brow. They bowed their heads together and began whispering with Shikamaru's hand resting gently on Ino's belly.  
_

___Temari tucked the handkerchief she had in her hand back into her pocket. _

___She turned and headed toward the edge of camp, away from the crowds and other mulling nins. The camp suddenly seem to shrink two sizes too small. Especially when every corner she turned seem to lead to Ino and Shikamaru.  
_

___She wanted space and privacy to think. _

___Temari ran a worn hand through her hair as she walked. _

___T_here was a lone figure sitting on a log when she arrived at her favorite spot. Of all the people she didn't want to meet, Rock Lee was among the top five, coming in after Shikamaru, Ino, Naruto, and Matsuri who still offered to kill Shikamaru and make it look like an accident. ("Just say the word, Temari-dono." Matsuri was serious.)

_"Ah, Temari-san!" Rock Lee greeted. He patted the space next to him. He was caked in blood too, but somehow he still managed to smile __cheerfully _.  


_Temari couldn't think of a good enough reason to decline the offer. She took the seat__ as __t_he blood on their clothes started to smell. She thinks cynically that the rancid odor just adds to the sullen mood that hovered over the camp. _  
_

_"How are you?" Rock Lee asked._

_"Fine. You?" she asked more out of politeness than any real interest. _

_"I'm good," Rock Lee gave her a winning smile._

_Temari set her eyes forward. From her vantage point, she could see most of the camp. She sees rows and rows of white tents and the furry of movements as nins walked passed.  
_

_Rock Lee's eyes was focused on a particular figure that was heading towards the medic tent to help out._

_"She doesn't know what she's missing," Temari said offhandedly. In one of her rare, generous moments, she offered some comforting words to Rock Lee, whose love life was worst off than even hers._

_"I'm sorry?" Rock Lee turned to her with a confused expression._

_"Haruno. She doesn't know what she's missing." _

_The pink haired chunin was too hung up on Uchiha to realize that Rock Lee was the better catch. He was devoted, simple-minded, and best of all, he wasn't a wanted fugitive. Rock Lee was the type to love whole-heartily._

_Haruno doesn't know how lucky she is._

_"Thank you," Rock Lee suddenly looked shy. He got to his feet. "I'm off to meet Gai-sensei, Temari-san."_

_Temari waved him off._

_Before he left, he grabbed at her hand. He looked into her eyes with a serious expression. The last time she saw that look, he was facing off against Gaara during the chunin exams. His bushy eyebrows came together._

_"He doesn't know what he's missing out either," Rock Lee said with a firm nod. There wasn't a doubt about who 'he' was.  
_

_Rock Lee was earnest. _

_"You'll find your soul-mate, Temari-san. The one you were destine for. Like me and Sakura-chan," his eyes glistened and Temari cringed. The poor, deluded guy. Still...a part of her actually admired his optimism._

_"Hang in there!" With those last words, Rock Lee saluted her and walked away._

_"Soul-mate, huh..."_

_Temari scoffed._

_Three nights later, Gaara summoned her to his tent for a private meeting. He handed her a scroll and waited until she read it through before asking her if she wanted to accept it._

_"I'll do it," Temari said. She handed the scroll back. __The mission outlined on the paper read almost like a suicide note. It was a moronic move, heading for a possible Akatsuki stronghold. Most people would have headed in the other direction. But if it was true and if by chance the raid was successful, they would be a step closer in ending the war. _  


_"It's on Mount Gojo," Gaara reminded her._

_"I'll do it," Temari replied firmly. _

_Gaara accepted her answer with a nod. "This is a joint mission. You'll be heading it up with a Konoha nin." _

_"Who?"_

_"I don't know." Gaara's green eyes blinked slowly. "Does it matter?"  
_

_"No." In the long run whoever the Hokage sends couldn't be as bad as sending Shikamaru or even Naruto._

_"Do me a favor, Gaara. Don't tell Kankuro yet." __Temari massaged her head against the sudden pain she felt. _"I want to tell him myself."  


_Gaara agreed. _

_"Does anyone else know about this mission besides you and me?" __Temari asked._  


_ "Just the Hokage," __Gaara answered._  


___So Shikamaru didn't know. _

___"Don't tell Shikamaru either," Temari said wearily. "Not until later." Gaara didn't look surprise at her request. Temari spends the rest of the night hammering out the details with Gaara. __She was granted a reprieve from her current position as a Division Four nin so that she can head back to Suna to get her affairs in order. _

___Temari packed her bags before the sun even rose. _

___ Gaara would break the news the next morning that she was needed home urgently when people notice that she was gone._  


_______She left the camp without telling anyone._

* * *

_In the two weeks since she left the camp, the only word she got from Gaara was that everyone took the news rather well. No one had questioned why she left abruptly. Maybe it was because Gaara indirectly implied that Kankuro was the reason for her departure. Her over-protectiveness was apparently legendary and Temari flinched at the thought that everyone just assumed that she had some sort of brother complex, no matter how true it was._

_"I still don't like this," Kankuro grumbled. He walked with her to the gate when it was time for her to leave. "Come back safe, Mari."_

_His sister complex was legendary too._

_Temari ruffled his hair._

_She walked into the desert with him watching until she disappeared behind a sand dune._

_Along the way to Mount Gojo, Temari was joined by Suna jounins in pairs. The first pair joined her ten miles into her trek. The next joined her in twenty-three miles and the pair after that in thirty-one. By the time she reached her destination, she should have sixteen nins following behind her. They were nins that were cutting their other missions short to accompany her. All of them, she has worked with before and trusted._

_Among them was Jinto, Suna's equivalent of Naruto._

_Temari ignored all the snickering from the other jounins at Jinto's clumsy attempts at wooing her. He offered to do everything for her, from carrying her pack to setting up her tent. When the weather got colder the closer they got to the mountain, he offered her his coat so that she would be layered against the wind. He even offered to massage her neck when the weight of her fan started to take its toll. The look Temari gave him would have sent most nins scrambling for cover, but Jinto just grinned and took it in stride._

_Out of all the nins that died when they came face to face with Uchiha, she regretted his death the most._

_"Temari-dono..." the kunai pierced through his throat. He shouldn't have been able to speak, but he agonizingly forced himself to. "Run."_

_His cold, dead eyes stuck with her long after he had perished. _

_Temari wished she had been kinder to him._

_Lying on the snow with the blood pooling from her abdomen, she turned her gaze to the grey skies. _

_One by one, everyone left her. Her mother, her uncle, her father...she's sure that one day even Kankuro and Gaara would leave her and the hollow feeling inside of her chest ached. She had always defined herself by others. She was someone's daughter, someone's niece, someone's sister. If they all left her, what did that make her?_

_Temari doesn't have much time to think after that. _

_Kakashi comes tumbling out of the bushes. _

* * *

_For the first few hours, the awkwardness was almost a palpable thing that hung between them. _

_Having the role of caretaker placed on her when she was young, Temari doesn't know how to react when she was the one being cared for. There was some truth to what they say. Nins do make the worst patients and Temari hated every second of lying on the cave ground and being nursed like an invalid.  
_

_Kakashi was gentle, as gentle as he could be, in caring for her. _

_When her hair came loose, Kakashi even plucked one of the hair ties that had fallen. His fingers were swift and nimble and before Temari knew it, he had neatly braided her hair so that it hung over one shoulder._

_"I think you missed your calling," Temari commented._

_"I aim to please," Kakashi answered back dryly. He went back to the fire to tend to the flames. The lumpy soup he force-fed her settled into her stomach like a rock at the bottom of a well.  
_

___"I miss cake," Kakashi hums._

_"I'll make you one," Temari said. She'll bake him a hundred if they made it through this mess._

_"You bake?" Kakashi asked. He turned to face her with one eye looking curious._

_"I made all of Kankuro's birthday cakes," Temari closed her eyes. Growing up, all she and Kankuro had were each other. __ There was no one in their lives that would even bother to do something as mundane as bake a cake. _Their father was always away on duty and Uncle Yashamaru was busy with Gaara.  


___She remembered seeing Kankuro one morning sitting alone at the kitchen table waiting for someone to notice him._  


_____'Ne, Onee-san, it's my birthday...' _

_He was only three at the time._

_She had walked him to his pre-genin class and watched through the window as he played by himself in the corner. When she came to pick him up, he had blinked owlishly at the amount of flour on her clothes and hair._

_The look on his face when she gave him the cake she had spent all morning preparing was a look of awe. It didn't matter how lumpy the layers were or how the melting icing bubbled, to Kankuro it was the best thing in the world._

_The wide grin he gave her was worth the hassle._

_After that, she made sure he got everything he ever wanted: toys, food, even the best wood for his puppets. That's probably how he got so spoiled. Even after he was too grown to care about birthdays, she had always made something to celebrate. Not too many people got close enough to her to find that she could bake. Shikamaru didn't even know. As of now, Kakashi knew more about her than Shikamaru did.  
_

_The truth stung a little. _

_"What kind of cake do you want, Kakashi?" she asked. "Yellow? White? Marble?"_

_Kakashi looked deep in thought._

_"Dark chocolate," he finally said._

_Something semi-bitter...somehow it was very much like Kakashi._

_"Alright," she agreed._

_"I want crepes, too."_

_"Okay."_

_"Macaroons."_

_Temari rolls her eyes._

_"Pie."_

_When Kakashi got ill, Temari feels more alone as she tuck his cold body closer to hers.  
_

* * *

_Pakkun's kind way of making sure her pride was still intact was appreciated. He never looked at her with pity or sympathy. He does just enough to make sure she was comfortable, but nothing else extra or overboard that would have made her feel like a burden. Most of his time was spent watching and worrying over Kakashi's feverish form.  
_

_"It's not going to last much longer," the ninken told Temari. __He was upfront and blunt. _He turn his gaze to the sparse amount of kindling that was leaning against the wall.

_What was left would keep the warmth and light going for one more day, maybe two if Pakkun rationed it frugally. After that, the entire cave is going to plunge into subzero darkness and all the layers that Temari and Kakashi were buried under wouldn't be enough to sweat off the fever or enough to starve off the frostbite. Without a fire, it wouldn't be long before they froze to death._

_Their odds of survival were never high to begin with and now, with the ninken's announcement, Temari sees it falls even more._

_The irony that she was a desert nin that might die on a snowy mountain wasn't lost on her._

_Food was also running low. Most of what was in the survival packs, which was sparse to begin with, were rationed. Pakkun did what he could. Every few hours, he fed them as much as he dared. Today, Pakkun fed her from one of the last few packages of dried fruits. Temari opens her mouth obediently and the taste of stale mango assaulted her tongue._

_"Come on, kid," the ninken said after he put the package away. Pakkun leans over her with a wet handkerchief. Using his paws to wring it so that the water would drip. Temari's parched throat is soothed for the moment. She watched as Pakkun does the same for Kakashi. Pakkun had three more handkerchief like this one, each one soaked in the snow. For days now, it was the only way they had water._

_The wrinkles on Pakkun's face sagged._

_He doesn't hide how bad the situation was getting and he nudged a few more pieces of kindling into the fire as it was getting low._

_"Burn them," Temari croaked. "The packs."_

_The lint from them should keep the fire going for just a little while longer. Pakkun emptied one pack and pulls on it with his teeth to throw it into the fire. It caught and the cave is just a little warmer as the flames grew._

_They had five packs that came from whatever Kakashi could scavenge before the weather got too bad for him to venture out. Before it was burned, Temari caught sight of the Suna emblem on them._

_Temari bone-wearily wonder which of her nin it belonged to._

* * *

_When Kakashi regained consciousness, the first thing he did was tried to heal her. The sweat that pour off of his face fell onto her cheek and his entire body shook with the strain as he poured his chakra into her wound._

_"You're going to be alright," Kakashi said as he held her close._

_Now Temari knew where Naruto got his stubbornness and naivety from.  
_

_When her heart stopped and her breath stuttered, he was the one who brought her back from death. _

_She could still feel the pressure on her chest from where his hand had pressed down to start her heartbeat. _

* * *

"You okay, kid?" Pakkun asked. The ninken laid on her chest and crossed his paws. His eyes scrutinized over her carefully. "You have a strange look on your face. Pain?"

"No, I'm just reminiscing on how I got here," Temari said lowly.

The memories came slowly and painfully.

The old feelings it drudged up made her cringe.

Pakkun nodded.

"Just think about the future, too." the ninken advised. He looked pointedly at Kakashi who seem too lost in his own thoughts to give an answer.

Pakkun's eyebrows suddenly wagged.

"Hey, do you want to hear about the time when a certain part of Kakashi got stuck in the closet door and got fractured?"

The ninken hightail himself away. He ducked away from Kakashi's hands and takes off snickering.

"Don't worry," Temari remarked. "Kankuro did the same thing when he was ten with the toilet seat."

She could feel Kakashi gap through his mask.

Pakkun's laughter echoed for a long time afterward.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto.

**An**: Thanks for reading this far.

**Warning: **Bad grammar probably. English is not my first language. Also this is Kakashi and Temari pairing. Kinda.

**Summary: **For ten days she waited for rescue...

**Release the Sickle**

* * *

_Day 9_

* * *

_Temari__ sat __with her back pressed against __the bark of an old tree __in Konoha. She was __somewhere __high in the tree tops. W__ith one leg crossed over the other, __she watched the__ crowd__ below her feet __bustled __their way through__ the __busy__ marketplace. The sounds of wheeling carts and kids laughing drifts all around her. __This was __her__ first __official__ visit __to__ the leaf village. N__othing really prepared her for how loud and chaotic __Konoha was. It wasn't anything like Suna where the days were long __and __hot and filled with arid sand and reserved, almost monkish villagers. __Konoha was a __vast__ sea of green __trees__, __chirping__ birds, and vibrant colors. __Tall buildings and busy restaurants dotted her vision. __It was almost a shame __that her father's plan would wipe all of this out._

_Konoha was actually beautiful. _

_S__he__ thinks, __rather sardonically,__ that __maybe this is __what __a __moth feel__s__ like flying next to a butterfly. __The realization that __Suna is nothing compared to the leaf __village hits her rather hard__.__ It was no wonder that they were losing all the Shinobi business. __Suna__gakure __just __couldn't compete with a village __that had__ double the population and cheaper rates. Her father was right. __Suna's economy was sinking and Konoha was to blame. __It was either war or extinction. __Sacrifices__ had to be made __if Suna was going to survive._

_Still, it was hard not __to__ feel a bit of regret as she watched the villagers go about their day. _

_Temari __could__ smell fresh bread __rising__ from the bakery stall nearby. She heard the cicadas buzz loud and shrill from the neighboring trees __and she __could practically taste the dew on the leaves as the humidity rose. __S__he feels Gaara's presence __suddenly. It's__ dark and __ominous__. __Kankuro's angry voice drifted up to the tree__s and she looks down to see her brothers facing off against a genin team from Konoha. W__ith an annoyed sigh, she joins __them. _

_It__ was just like Kankuro to get into a fight on the first day. _

_A loud mouth blond in orange and a little gap-tooth boy were demanding an apology __while __Kankuro snarls back viciously. Temari fought the urge to roll her eyes as more people joined in. There was a pink-hair girl with a large forehead and a cute emo-kid with dark eyes __who looked like he never smile much if the thin press of his lips was anything to go by__. __Temari vaguely recognized the family crest that adorned the emo-kids clothes. _

_She had been __tempted__ to let them duel it out until __she noticed the __sand __that__ start__ed__ to drift in__to__ the air. Her hands shook slightly. The group in front of her will never know that she saved their lives__ that day__. _

_"Gaara," __she puts her hands together and silently prayed. "This is your big sister asking you to stop. Please?"_

_Gaara's green eyes shifted to her before he acknowledge her request. The sand died down __and she didn't waste any time in __herding__ Gaara and Kankuro away before something worst could happen. __She ignores the loud mouth blond's indignant __hollers. __As she passed underneath a tree, she happen to look up to see a jounin there, __carefully __watching __her and her brothers__. _

_She remembers the way the sunlight glinted through the trees to land in his white hair. She had to turn her eyes away for a moment to get rid of the silver bright glare. _

_By the time she blinked away the black dots __and turned back__, he had __disappeared._

_"It must have been Hatake Kakashi," Baki mentioned later. They had settle into the room that Konoha had provided them for the Chunin exams. The one-half of his face that was visible looked stony. "Be mindful of him." _

_Temari acknowledged the advice._

* * *

Kakashi is getting better. It's slow, but it was progress. He grows more alert as time passed. His skin is a little less flush, a little less clammy. Through their contact Temari could feel his fever recede. He felt well enough to even whip out a familiar book and Temari doesn't miss the way he angled the pages so that they both could read.

There was no excuse she could give herself for reading what was the single most trashy novel known in the literary world.

"Turn back, I didn't finish," she mummer when Kakashi flipped the page.

She ignored the slight rumble of amusement as he silently grawffed.

"Ooh, this is the best part!" Pakkun nodded his head eagerly. He scrambled forward so that he could join in. By the time they finished reading, Temari was tired and half-conscious. Her eyes were closed when she feels Kakashi secured the blankets around her more tightly. She started to drift off until she heard mummers and her name. She kept her eyes closed and her breathing steady as she listened to the ninken and Kakashi talk.

"She's not Obito or Rin," the ninken said. His voice is gentle, but firm.

"I know," Kakashi replies.

"Do you?" the ninken seems to sigh. "I don't think you're facing the facts, Kakashi. She's not going to make it. Her wounds are too heavy. The more you try, the worst off you'll be. You'll just end up dying along with her."

Pakkun tried reasoning.

"I like the child, I really do, but my first priority is going to be you. It'll always be you." The ninken was adamant. "You have to let go, Kakashi."

"I'm not sure I can," Kakashi admits ruefully. "Every time I look at her-"

"-you see Obito or Rin," Pakkun finished.

Kakashi's silence says it all.

"You're going to keep trying to save her, aren't you?" Pakkun asked. "Even if it's fruitless in the end."

Kakashi hummed in agreement.

The ninken muttered something about stubborn nins under his breath.

After a long, pregnant pause, Pakkun spoke again.

"Her name is Temari of the sands," the ninken says. "She likes hot springs, sweet chestnuts, and Kenchin soup. She doesn't like squid or octopus."

Temari could feel Kakashi raise an eyebrow.

"You should know who you're saving," Pakkun said. "Don't save her because you see someone else."

Kakashi shifts slightly at the lecture.

A heartbeat later..."What else?" Kakashi wanted to know.

"She's nineteen, hates the color pink, and she has a summon..."

Everything the ninken knows about her through the conversations they had while Kakashi was feverish and comatose was said to a carefully listening Kakashi.

She waits until Kakashi finally lapse off into sleep before she opened her eyes to where Pakkun was waiting for her.

"It's not nice to eavesdrop," he told her. His tone was amused. The ninken pats her head until her eyes drooped and she fell asleep.

She wakes later to Kakashi's hand on her chest. He was in the middle of changing her dressing. His fingers stopped at a long scar above her heart.

"I was sixteen," she answered his questioning look. "Assassin."

After coming back from a three-day mission where she didn't sleep, Temari was too tired to even blink. She had completely missed the presence of a masked nin who had been lying in wait in her apartment, hidden behind the door. She walked into her apartment with a yawn. When she turned to hang her jacket she felt a brief, burning pain as a blade slid home through her chest. She stumbled backwards and her body managed to hit the wall with a barely audible thud. She slid to the ground as the nin fled out of her window.

"Hey sis," Kankuro didn't bother to knock. He just strolled right in. He had a habit of turning up at her apartment whenever he felt the need to. It was a habit she tried to break him of, but now she felt grateful for it. "Can I borrow-"

He stopped short when he saw her on the ground. The empty bottle of shampoo slipped from his hand and he stood there for a long moment in stun silence. It was only when she started choking on her own blood did he move.

He knelt at her side. His hands were a bumbling mess as he propped her head onto his lap. His palms were slick and sweating as he tried to hold onto the wound, trying to make sure she didn't lose more blood. His voice was high-pitched and terrified and it shot through the air as he screamed. The nins that lived in the apartments nearby heard the commotion. Someone mentioned that they would head for the medic center for help.

"You're going to be fine," Kankuro babbled. His face, even through the white face paint, looked sickening green. She had spent five days in the hospital before she was back on her own two feet. She never got a shot at the nin who almost killed her. She was never privy to what Gaara did to the nin after they found him. All Kankuro would mention was that it wasn't pretty. He looked grim.

"And this one?" Kakashi asked. He touched a small scar at the junction of her throat.

"I was five. Another assassin." Temari doesn't bother to hide the wan smile. The closest person to Kakashi that might understand is the boy Konohamaru. In return for all of the privileges, power, and prestige that came along with being children and grandchildren of a Kage, most of the people that they met either wanted them dead or people wanted to use them. Temari still gets dozens of marriage proposals daily from men who tried to woo her with the virtues of why a marriage between her and them would be beneficial. Shikamaru was the first person she's met that didn't care about who she was. Shikamaru-

Temari had to stop that dangerous train of thought.

"And this?" Kakashi looks at a deep puckered scar above her left shoulder. "Another assassin?"

"Uchiha Sasuke."

She had gotten that wound the day she went after him. The shrapnel from the exploding tag that he used to attack her had sliced through her shoulder. It tore through muscle and the medic-nin that put her back together warned her that her shoulder would never be the same. Even after it was healed, Temari still occasionally feels a slight twinge from it. The pain is worst on days that rained.

She sees a jagged scar on Kakashi's wrist that runs up to his elbow. "What about you?"

A hand goes back to rub the back of his head. "I fell off the rooftop when I was drunk one night," Kakashi said. "I hit a potted vase on the way down."

Temari couldn't be less impressed.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're an idiot?" Temari asked.

"Naruto reminds me often," Kakashi answers. He finished wrapping the bandages and he ties the ends with a flourish. Temari is reminded again that Kakashi was human when the strength seems to sap out of him. He tiredly crawls into the covers with her and draws her close.

"Hands," Temari wearily reminds him.

She sees a smile twitch behind the mask, but he dutifully adjusted his hands. She turned her head and watched as Pakkun toss the last empty pack into the fire.

This was it.

Once the fire died down, there wouldn't be anything else left to burn.

"One problem at a time, kid," Pakkun said, seemingly reading her mind.

_"Will you do me a favor?"_ _Temari asked. She held onto Kakashi at the peak of his fever. She looks to the summon whose ears perked up at her voice. "When the times comes I want you to..." _

"Oi, Kakashi," Temari said softly. When Kakashi turns his head, her hand moved. She struck the pressure point at his neck. The strike is fast and he's not prepared for it. She sees the realization hit him seconds before he fell into her arms, limp and heavy.

Temari pushed him off carefully.

Using her hands she drags herself backwards out of the covers. She ignores the bitter cold. She and Pakkun bundled Kakashi up with everything they had to keep him warm. They cocooned him in layers. Using strips of torn clothing, they made a rope harness.

Temari has just enough strength left to summon Kamatari.

She ties the end of the harness with shaking fingers around Pakkun and Kamatari.

"Are you sure about this?" Pakkun asked one last time. He stood at the cave entrance. The ninken looked back at her with furred brows at her figure lying half-propped against a cave wall.

"I'm sure," Temari replied.

The tentative plan she and Pakkun had agreed on was set. The timing was finally right. Kakashi was well enough to travel and the storm had died down. All Pakkun had to do was make sure that the handmade sled with Kakashi on it makes it relatively fast and safe down the mountain.

The expression on the ninken's face before he and Kamatari left was a mixture of gratefulness and regret.

Temari was never particularly self-sacrificing. She was generally smarter than that. Saving Kakashi would be the only exception. She imagine that once everything settles down Gaara and Kankuro would understand.

Despite the cold, the hunger, and the solitude, Temari is smiling as she stares through the opening of the cave to the starry sky.


End file.
